Menopause belly: what's behind it + what you can do | Ep. 38

If you're a menstruator who is lucky enough to live into old age, you'll find yourself navigating perimenopause and then menopause one day. For a lot of gals out there, this can come with unwanted weight retention. Losing weight isn't the same way that it used to be. 

Listen to the episode to learn about:
- The factors causing "menopause belly"
- What to investigate further if you're in this situation
- Changes you can try right away to see the results that you're looking for

As a quick, loving disclaimer--your body is amazing and it truly deserves your love even if it isn't quite your preferred shape or size. Be easy on yourself, friend. 

Transcript

Menopause Belly and Hormone Health

Speaker 1 0:05

Welcome to I'm Hormonal , your source of information about women's hormone health and how to support your body . Naturally , I'm your host , bridget Walton , and I'm a certified functional hormone specialist and menstrual cycle coach . I am on a mission to hold these hormone conversations with as many menstruators as possible , because you deserve easier access to accurate information about what's up with your unruly menstrual cycle and with your fertility mysteries . Don't you think it's time that we figure this out once and for all ? On today's show , we are going to be covering menopause belly . If you are a gal who is going through perimenopause or into menopause by this point , then you may be familiar with , and perhaps disgruntled with , menopause belly , which is the loving term that a lot of gals use to refer to just midsection weight that doesn't want to be shed . Right , you're doing the same things that you've always done , but it's not having the same impact on your body . This is a question that I get a lot from clients or other gals that I meet out there in the wild at networking events or other events , so I wanted to talk about it here today on I'm Hormonal . So we'll get into this here in just a second . I wanted to say hello again to all of you . Thank you for listening . I know that there are a billion options for podcasts out there and you've got a lot of choices , so I certainly don't take it for granted that you're spending a couple minutes with me while you drive or do your dishes or whatever you're up to .

Speaker 1 1:47

My name is Bridget and I started this podcast because I think it's so important to share what I know and what we all collectively know about how our bodies work , how we can understand our bodies and what we can do through diet or lifestyle changes and other tweaks in order to feel better in our bodies . Just a quick reminder that the information I share with you today is for educational purposes only and it should not be used as a replacement for any sort of one-on-one support from a certified practitioner or from your healthcare provider healthcare provider . So , with that being said , if you are in the market to work one-on-one with a practitioner a little bit more tailored support to you then you can always reach out to me . That's what I do , so check out the link in the show notes if that's what you are looking for , and we can set up a time to chat and talk more about what your goals are and what you're experiencing now . With that out of the way , though , why don't we get into the good stuff ? So , menopause belly we'll talk about what is it , why does it occur , and then we'll talk about how to handle undesired abdominal weight gain from a hormonal perspective . So we'll round out the episode today with some actionable steps that you can take .

Speaker 1 3:11

I mentioned this at the start of the episode , but essentially what menopause belly is , or this abdominal weight gain that can happen as menstruators and gals go through their 40s , into 50s and later is it's a redistribution of weight from our hips and thighs to our abdominal section . So during our cycling years , when estrogen levels are higher , that's what is helping reinforce a fat concentration on our hips and thighs . However , going into menopause , when estrogen is lower , it can make it harder to get rid of that weight , and again , it's just redistributing . So maybe it's the same amount . Maybe your body composition your body weight rather is the same , but your body composition is a little bit different than it used to be . Why does this happen ? Why does this happen to all of us , or many of us , as we get older ? So , as I mentioned , estrogen levels are lower or getting lower throughout perimenopause and into menopause , and when estrogen levels are low . That leads to a less insulin sensitive environment for our tissues , or maybe a better way to say that is our tissues are less sensitive to insulin . Now what does this actually mean ? This means that the same apple that you eat today , or the same cookie , or the same bowl of pasta with veggies whatever it is that has carbs and or sugar in it , it's going to spike your insulin more than it would yesterday , and that means more insulin will be released from your pancreas in order to respond to that higher blood sugar level . Now , insulin is a sort of growth hormone , and so the more insulin we have , the better we are at storing fat , whether or not we want to be . So just to recap that , when estrogen levels are low , our bodies , our tissues , are less sensitive to insulin , which means ultimately that we have higher blood sugar levels , higher insulin levels in response , and those higher insulin levels lead to weight retention .

Speaker 1 5:39

Two other things here that are contributing factors . First , perimenopause is often accompanied by disrupted sleep , and that can be due to low progesterone levels . Insufficient sleep can certainly negatively impact your weight . You know , are you somebody ? Do you find yourself wanting to snack on sweet treats after a poor night's sleep , or you were running to Starbucks and getting a sweetened drink after sleep . Also , during times of stress , our insulin levels are disrupted , so anyway , this can all snowball into a situation where weight retention in that apple shape is what's going on and a part of our lives . The third thing that I want to mention here is that , going into perimenopause , or rather going into menopause , our testosterone levels are lower than they were during our cycling years , and when testosterone levels are lower than they were during our cycling years and when testosterone levels are low , that also leads to fat redistribution . In contrast , higher testosterone levels are correlated with a lower body fat percentage . So low testosterone fat redistribution to the abdominal section .

Speaker 1 6:56

And as a final final and I mean it this time as a final thing to note here , as we age we generally lose muscle mass , right ? You think about perhaps yourself , or perhaps other gals , or your mother or your grandmother , aunts and just naturally , as we age , oftentimes we become less active . So , yeah , less muscle mass means that we have a lower calorie requirement , but the problem is we're still eating the same amount or the same things that we did before . So we have to take a little look , take a look-see , if you will , at the math and really think about okay , how much nourishment does my body need and how much am I getting it ? It's not so simple as calories in equals calories out , but you see where I'm going with this real quick .

Speaker 1 7:52

Before we start talking about some of the things that you can do to address your unwanted weight retention , I just want to say that our bodies all will naturally change over time and there's certainly no perfect or only just best body shape or body size . So it is so important to love your body in whatever shape or form or fashion . It is because our bodies are our little houses that we live in and we need our bodies in order to be alive and go , do all the fun things that we do and have the experiences that we have . So I just want to share that as a friendly reminder for you . If you are somebody who , like me , you know , at times , and like many other women , has really lacked confidence about their bodies , just know that your body is beautiful and there's no one perfect body shape or size . If you need just another hot second to stew on that before we dive into the next spot , then pause me real quick , because if changing your body composition is important to you , then you'll want to listen to what we've got coming up next .

Speaker 1 9:12

I also just want to note that , while our bodies need a certain amount of fat for sure , excess abdominal fat specifically can be linked with other health risks , because this visceral fat that is intertwined with our internal organs has a different impact on our well , how our organs can perform their functions , and our levels of inflammation and , as I mentioned , other co-factors or co-risks that go along with it . So , of course , health and longevity and feeling your best is really at the tip of what you should be considering , or what I consider when I look at okay , how do I want to design my day , design my lifestyle , design my diet to support ? But all right , okay , all that out of the way , let's get to the practical steps that you can consider . So the first thing that I think is most important to focus on would be building muscle . So when we are increasing our muscle mass , that enhances , or can enhance our body's ability to respond to higher glucose levels , because our muscles are taking in that glucose , that blood sugar , and using it . It's not just , like you know , floating around in our blood and needing insulin to be released in order to absorb it into ourselves . So , tldr , focus on building muscle that can help to increase testosterone to a degree as well .

Blood Sugar, Sleep, Hormones, Health

Speaker 1 10:51

The second thing I want to recommend you to do is to think about your blood sugar and blood sugar regulation as you eat . So if you have been here before , you've heard me talk about things like . I'm going to list four things like , number one , eating a savory breakfast . Number two , incorporating apple cider vinegar into the start of your meal or a beverage before you eat your carb heavy meal of the day . Third , incorporate a veggie starter , because getting in those veggies and that fiber at the beginning of your meal will help to slow the glucose release in your blood , in your body . And then , fourth and final , after you eat a meal , get up , move out , stretch your body , work your muscles for like 10 minutes within the 90 minutes after you eat your meal . That might sound familiar to you if you follow the Glucose Goddess on Instagram . She also has a couple of good books , so can't recommend those enough if you are looking to get a better understanding for how to support your blood sugar and have stable , more stable blood sugar levels , all right . So those are the first two Muscle building , eat for your blood sugar .

Speaker 1 12:10

Number three focus on getting enough good sleep . Surely easier said than done , but if you are not waking up feeling rested , be more strict about what time you go to bed , what time you get up . Have , as best you can , a routine to go to bed at the same time every day . To bed at the same time every day . Wake up at the same time every day . Make sure that your room at night is really dark . Spend a couple extra bucks . Get some blackout curtains . Get a sweet little eye mask , whatever it is that you need . Get a fan for your room if it's not the right temperature for you . Whatever it is that you need to do to get good sleep . That's so important for all facets of our health .

Speaker 1 12:51

The fourth thing I want to mention would be to well dial in the other foundational areas of health . So that's super broad , but a couple of subcategories here I want to mention would be one gut health . Two get a handle on your stress . Three consider what endocrine disrupting chemicals you're coming into contact with , whether it's something that you are putting on your skin every day , that you are eating , that's in your water or other liquids that you're consuming . Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can certainly have an impact on our weight retention , just independent of anything that's going on with menopause and estrogen levels , testosterone levels . Two final notes If you are still cycling , then you'll certainly want to get to what is the root cause of your lower testosterone and or low estrogen levels .

Speaker 1 13:51

If you're finding that you have abdominal weight gain , it's also worth looking into what's your cortisol , your stress hormone like . If you work with a hormone health coach , then that practitioner could perhaps order lab testing for you . The test that I use with my clients is the Dutch test . It's either the Dutch Complete or the Dutch Plus to measure cortisol levels . So anyway , if you're cycling , just get to the root cause of what's going on there . Get your stress in check . If you're going through perimenopause or in menopause and you're really really struggling , then you could always talk to your doctor about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy something to get more information on from him or her and their perspective , and make sure that you are you know it's something that is really a good fit for you and you understand all of the . You know second and third order effects , basically , that you want to think of or that you'd like to consider with their advice ? And a final final mention here , and a final final mention here consider getting a test done for your thyroid to see what's going on with your thyroid . Is that impacting weight retention ? And maybe some testing or further investigation with regards to any other underlying risks that could be present for you . So we are almost to the end here .

Speaker 1 15:27

This was kind of a shorty episode for today . If you are multitasking , come back to me , because here is your quick recap of menopause belly . So what is it ? Overall , lower estrogen , lower testosterone and lower progesterone . Those are all realities of perimenopause and then . Menopause and lower testosterone can cause our fat to redistribute from our hips and thighs during our cycling years to our abdomen . What you should focus on or consider incorporating into your lifestyle would be one , weightlifting . Two , eating for stable blood sugars and three , getting in some good Zs . As a final note , talk with your doctor about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy , if that is your jam .

Speaker 1 16:21

If you found this conversation to be helpful , consider sending this episode to a friend or a sister . She will appreciate it and you would be helping to grow the I'm Hormonal community . Also consider subscribing to I'm Hormonal if you want these episodes to show up automatically in your feed . You can always reach out to me on Instagram at Bridget Balton , or through the link in the show notes . It'll say something like text us here and you can just send me a text message if you have a request for an episode topic . So I cannot wait to hear from you . My name is Bridget Walton and I am so grateful for you listening , especially for those of you who have made it all the way to the end here . So thank you so much and I will see you here again next week .